Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
Hwange Local Board (HLB) Town Secretary Mr Ndumiso Mdlalose has assumed a top post as new chairman of the Town Clerks’ Forum.
According to the local authority’s latest monthly newsletter Mr Mdlalose was unanimously nominated to the top post at the Town Clerks’ Forum annual meeting held in Victoria Falls in December.
The forum draws its membership from all the 32 urban councils in the country. Prior to being elected on substantive basis Mr Mdlalose was the body’s deputy chairman and had been acting chairman for almost a year in place of Chitungwiza Municipality town clerk Dr George Makunde.
Mr Mdlalose is being deputised by Bulawayo City Council (BCC) Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube. He expressed his gratitude to other colleagues for being confident in him.
“I’m grateful for the confidence vested upon me by my colleagues. It’s not a small feat and I hope I won’t disappoint. I have been acting for some time and it’s a welcome development to be doing the work on substantive basis. In all honesty it’s a gratitude for me to be given this opportunity by my God, to lead. What I then ask from him is the wisdom to deliver,” said the clergyman.
Mr Mdlalose said his elevation to the helm of the forum was expected to play a pivotal role in improving service delivery and spearheading development in Hwange.
“It’s an opportunity for us (HLB) as a small local authority to interact at the highest level with other bigger local authorities. It’s beneficial to us because it accords us the chance to drive this small local authority forward.”
Mr Mdlalose said there was a need for the forum to foster good relations between the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe and Government so as enhance development in the country, as the Ministry plays a supervisory and advisory role to local authorities.
He also noted that they were the third tier in Government as there was the central (government), provincial and local authorities.
“So, we need to add meaningful contribution to the development of the country. We must work with integrity, which is one thing we need to push for so that we get all the respect we deserve from the Ministry,” added Mr Mdlalose.
He further hinted that local authorities play an integral role in complementing Government efforts in promoting the country’s economic growth and development in pursuance of the national vision of transforming the economy into an upper middle-income status by 2030.
“I think every council’s task and that of Government is to drive towards Vision 2030 and the immediate focus is the National Development Strategy I,” he said.
Over the past few years Mr Mdlalose has won a number of accolades for his outstanding contribution at the local authority. He was in the running for the 2020 National Megafest Business Awards in the Public Sector Leader of the year category.
In 2019 he also scooped the town clerk of the year in the Local Government awards category after having been the first runner up the previous year. In 2017 as well he played a huge part when HLB won the Water Supply and Waste Water Management at an awards ceremony held during the Local Government Investment Logic Conference in Harare.
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